A Bright Shadow
by Super Serial Ethereal
Summary: Nico di Angelo was used to people staring. It was like a new way of life. But when someone new started staring, it felt different. He was different, and Nico didn't know his life would get a little bit brighter by a small mistake. AU of the demigods, includes mainly solangelo but other ships too. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

#

This is an AU of all the demigods in high school in America. It's mainly about Nico and Will but there might be some others. Hope you enjoy!

Will stared at the clock in his classroom. He didn't realise time could pass so slowly! He honestly thought that Mr D, his teacher, had powers of making time go slower, or at least powers to make the students die of boredom. Mr D was currently talking about Pythagoras' theorem, or Will hoped. He had stopped listening at that point to look at the clock, and didn't have an interest to listen again.

Will started looking around the classroom to find friends, anyone he could complain to. But alas, he found no one, not even Cecil, and that made Will think he might have gone into the wrong class.

Cecil was in every single one of Will's classes, and it was good that they had made friends pretty quickly. He knew that Cecil loved to prank people, so if Will got on his bad side, Will would be facing major penalties.

Will knew he was in the wrong class if he thought about it. Mr D wasn't actually Will's teacher; Will just got a lot of complaints about him from Lou Ellen, his other friend. Lou Ellen was only in half of Will's classes, and spent that time laughing or mocking Will, though he didn't mind. He liked hanging out with Lou because then they could go guy finding with her, and Cecil hated guy finding.

Will shook his head, he was a going off track again and he needed to focus if he was going to get out of a class that wasn't his.

He looked around again, only this time for escape routes. He looked in every corner of the room, which wasn't difficult, and saw a backdoor. Will started to smile as a plan on how to leave had formatted in his mind, but then stopped when he saw someone sitting right next to the door. A mop of black, unruly hair hid a face that was unnaturally pale. His head was bent down over his desk, drawing in his math book, not listening. Will was weirdly fascinated with the boy. He looked like if he stared at you hard enough, he could get you to run away, screaming. But he was also still only boy. A boy that looked around Will's age, seventeen, and looked as if he had been in too many fights.

Will had the urge to go and clean up a few of his bruises, wanting to be a doctor after all. But he also felt weird when he looked away. Like the kid was someone who demanded Will's attention. Will suddenly had to keep on looking at him, and begun to tap his finger into his desk when Will wasn't looking at him.

Nico di Angelo could feel someone staring at him. For some reason, this staring was different. Nico often got people staring at him, and Nico wondered what they were thinking, though he could tell it wasn't positive. But this staring was very different. The staring didn't feel negative, but felt so positive that it felt like physical sunbeams. How someone was filled with such a positive energy, Nico didn't know, though weirdly he wanted to find out. Nico never wanted to look at the people who stared at him, because they would either start fights or run. Nico just couldn't be bothered in the end, and decided that he would only look someone in the eye if they wanted to start trouble.

The stares kept on happening, and Nico wondered why the air suddenly felt like one at a... hospital. Was the person staring at him thinking of him as an experiment? Wanted to fix Nico as if he were a machine? He had met people like that before, and it was not a good meeting. But this felt different. As if this someone wanted to help him in a way that would make him happier.

This might have made other people really happy, or even feel loved, but to Nico di Angelo it was weird. No one wanted to help Nico, he was the 'emo kid' in school. The staring was the reason Nico suddenly wanted to leave very quickly, and started paying attention to the clock. As soon as it hit the right mark, Nico practically sprinted for the door, needing to be free from the hospital air.

Nico left so fast he didn't see the cute blonde guy asking his friend about Nico di Angelo.


	2. Chapter 2

# A bright shadow. #

A new chapter! I didn't actually have any ideas but I wanted to give another chapter so I just added stuff down. Please leave reviews if it's good or not!

Helpful criticism is accepted.

Will Solace was known as a bright, happy ball of sunshine, and his friends all knew about what he wanted to achieve in life. He wanted to be a doctor because he liked helping people, and because he was good at it. He had read about thousands of diseases and syndromes, that his friends thought his head would burst and he would have to treat himself. It was like Will Solace had all the words, and most of them medical.

But there were times when he was absolutely speechless. Like the time he had found Lou Ellen and Cecil kissing in his room during the Easter holidays, and he just stood there, gawking like a fish.

But Will had never before been so thrown off course when a dark haired boy walked into the school cafeteria, glaring at everyone who dared to look at him. Will watched as the boy grabbed a small amount of food quickly and left as soon as he paid. Will watched as the boy moved swiftly, almost as if he were liquid on the ground. He almost sighed heavily when Will saw his face. Pale but beautiful at the same time. Making his dark, brown eyes stand out that were like pools of darkness. His lips, pulled into a scowl, looked strangely soft. Will thought that nothing was more adorable than that boy's scowl, even if it did show negativity.

Then he left, and Will realised what he had been doing. More like a huge window had been smashed in Will's brain as he came back into reality. Lou Ellen and Cecil were looking at him strangely, though Lou with a slight hint of amusement, as if she knew what had happened. Of course she did, she was sitting right next to Will, and could see the boy.

Will had to quickly rush into saying that everything was fine, what with his friends asking why he had suddenly stopped talking. Thankfully, the school bell rang, signalling the start of classes. Will sighed in relief, as he quickly got his stuff and said a rushed goodbye to his friends. Cecil still looked a bit dazed, but Lou Ellen smiled at Will. So he rushed away, but not long after that, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned around to see Lou Ellen.

"Nico di Angelo." She said, and smiled as if she knew a secret about Will. It didn't help that she probably did.

So, as Will was great with words, he said "huh?"

Lou Ellen laughed at him. "The boy you were gazing at, dear William! Gosh, catch up!" Will started to blush, but she carried on. "His name is Nico di Angelo, and no one knows anything about him, except his name and the fact he broods. A lot." By the time she finished saying this she was at her class, she quickly waved to him, before entering.

This left Will alone with his thoughts. Nico di Angelo, Will mused. It was a beautiful name, for a beautiful boy, and Will couldn't help but think that the boy could be an angel.

Will was so stuck in his thoughts; he bumped into someone, and all his stuff and the next person's dropped to the floor.

"Oh my god I am so sorry!" Will sputtered, already dying from embarrassment. He bent down to pick up all the work quickly, then stood up and sorted them into two piles in his hands of his own and the stranger. Will then looked up at the stranger, and breathed in a sharp intake when he found out who it was. Nico di Angelo. Staring at Will with his brown onyx eyes, which seemed to suck Will in even more. Will then noticed the bruise on his face, after a few seconds of being lost in Nico's eyes, and quickly started to panic.

"Hey, did I do that? I am so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going and I sort of got lost in my head. Anyways I am so sorry; I can help with the bruise!" Whilst Will was rambling, he was digging around in his pockets, before pulling out the most unlikely thing.

"Why do you have antiseptic spray in your pockets?" Nico asked, and Will nearly collapsed by hearing his voice. It was deep but soothing, like the voice for a soft song. It had a hint of an accent, which made Will want him to speak more, just so he could hear more of the accent.

He had to stop having a seizure upon hearing Nico's voice, so he could answer him like a normal human being, which Will was finding very difficult to be. "In case things like this happen. I want to be a doctor, you see, and I happen to have a dad who also works with medicine. I raid his work place constantly." Will had taken out an antibacterial wipe out of his back and wiped Nico's cheek, not seeing him smile ever so slightly, before his lips went back to scowling. He didn't see the smile, but Will did see the scowl, and smiled at Nico. "You seem upset, want to talk about it?" Nico looked genuinely confused at what Will had said, and asked, "Why would you want me to talk to you? You hardly know me."

Will smiled, more genuine than before. "Then let's get to know each other. My name is Will Solace. And yours is?" Will already knew Nico's name, but didn't want to come off as a creep if he said he knew it already.

"Nico di Angelo. That is all you need to know." At that Nico made to turn and walk to his class, but Will followed him. "Not happening. You may not have realised this yet, but you are now my patient. You have fallen (quite literally) into the hands of a doctor-in-training. And you are now going have to put up with me. So you may not tell me anything now, but just you wait. We'll know everything about one another, and you won't know what hit you before it's too late!" And with that, Will ran off, trying not to be late to his class.

He made it just in time and took his seat, smiling to himself. He was going to be friends with Nico di Angelo. Whether he liked it or not.

So I'm thinking I want to do the rest of the story in Nico's pov. Mainly becuase it would be a lot more fun, but also add a lot more surprises in the story. Please tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Nico's pov:

After meeting the very irritating ball of gas (or more likely known as Will Solace), Nico started to find letters in his bag. At first he thought about going to tell someone, like the police, but when he saw Will smile and laugh at him he knew who it was. He was still tempted to call the police on him but he figured that would be too harsh, even for him.

The notes were always something casual, like 'have you got a cat?' But Nico still thought it was weird. Who would want to talk to him? He just didn't understand.

The letters were in his bag every day. And when Will got ill and couldn't go to school, Nico found an extra note in his bag. After a few weeks, Nico started looking forward to reading his note, but he would never admit it to anyone, especially not Jason, his roommate and best friend.

"Please tell me why you're smiling as if someone is going to die soon?" Jason stared at him from his book, as if Nico smiling was strange.

"What if someone is going to die?" Nico questioned, his smile slowly fading.

"Oh I'm okay with someone dying, but could you possibly tell me I advance? I would like to say goodbye to them." Nico sighed. He had asked the sense that Jason was going to ask a question, and it was going to be personal.

"So what's got you smiling? I vaguely remember that you never smile, and only frown." Nico sighed again. Yep, he was right.

"It's nothing Jason, and am I not allowed to smile anymore?" Nico knew Jason was going to retort, but he didn't feel like telling Jason about his meeting with Will Solace, and he certainly did not want to talk about the letters. It would be too weird, and it was still very early to even think he had developed a friend in Will Solace. "Anyway," Nico said quickly, hoping to get Jason of the subject. "How are you and Piper?" Nico knew that this would get Jason ranting, and didn't care.

As if on cue, Jason's eyes began to light up, and talked about all the perfections about his girlfriend, Piper McLean. Nico blocked most of him out.

It wasn't as if Nico didn't like Piper; in fact she was rather nice. She was smart and funny and pretty in her own way, but she always tried to set Nico up with someone, and Nico just wasn't interested in anyone that way.

After Jason finished his ranting, Nico decided to go to sleep, semi excited about getting his next letter from Will.

After about a few weeks of Will leaving letters, Nico got a note from him that was different from the rest, a question personal to both of them.

'You know that you can write on this too, right? Just read them at break, or during school." Nico was dumbfounded. He didn't know how Will kept on putting notes in his bag without noticing, but now he was saying that he could easily take them out again? It was insane!

But no matter what Nico thought, he started to write back to Will, his new bright shadow.

'Hello shadow.'


	4. Chapter 4

# A bright shadow. #

'Shadow? Well that tells me you have an imagination. a very dark one, mind you, but an imagination nonetheless.'

That was the first letter Nico got that responded to his, and for Nico, it felt weird. He didn't want to write to someone as if being pen pals when that someone was in school and rummaging through his bag on a daily basis. But still, Nico felt as if he had no free choice of the matter when it was obvious Will Solace had read his note. So Nico tried to ignore the feeling and went around school like normal. Or his version of normal, scowling at everyone and everything and trying to get out of Jason's and Percy's (Jason's best friend) fussing over him. He also tried to ignore the looks he got from Will and Lou Ellen, which he knew from his chemistry class, but commonly failed so he ended up scowling at both of them, making them both laugh. In the letters conversation Will would always ask Nico questions about his life, but Nico would always write down short answers. He was still unwilling to the 'friend' thing. Will, however, never asked him to elaborate on any of the subjects. Nico found that weird because everyone wanted him to be more social.  
The short sentences definitely stopped though, when Will asked Nico what games he liked. Nico had to actually write smaller so he can write all about Mythomagic, a game he had been infactuated since he was ten.  
It was until the next day, when Will put another note in his bag, did Nico realise that he put an unnatural amount of words, and he wrote them to Will Solace, practically a stranger. Will even hellped his doubts that he was cpming out of his solitude.  
'Wow, you really like that game! I'll have to ask my brothers or sisters if they know how to play it, then maybe they could teach me.' This made Nico vow to himself that he would write less, as it was letting Will in. Will would only hurt him, so he would just be better leaving Nico alone. Nico was saddened by that though, and he didn't know why. He was doing the right thing by pushing Will away, so why did he feel sad? He didn't even know Will that well, just knew that he was positive and laidback, but also stubborn. Nico winced at the fact that he didn't know Will at all. Will went to all the effort of putting notes in Nico's bag, only to take them out again, just so he could talk to Nico, to be friends with him. It made Nico feel like a complete baffoon. Not only did Will put and take things from Nico's bag, he made corny jokes most of the time, making Nico smile, which was rare but had started happining more often since he met Will. it was time to get some payback, and maybe learn about Will on the way.

It was a sunny weekend day, and Nico was wearing sunglasses and a baggy hoody to hide his face. He was at a children's park, not his choice, and sitting under a tree with good shade, watching a blonde complain to his two friends to go with him to get ice cream. Nico added it to the list he had recently created and smiled slightly. Before Nico started his idea of a hobby, he didn't realise how much free time he had. He had so much free time that most of his day consisted of him doing his hobby, learning new things. Nici loved his new hobby, why, he didn't know. But Nico like doing it, and tried to do it as much as often. Will Solace didn't know about Nico's hobby. So whenever Nico asked Will if he liked something that Nico knew he did, Will would ask if he was psychic, and Nico would say yes. It actually got to the point of Will believing it and tested Nico. It was safe to say, that Nico passed, scaring Will to his socks.  
But Will would never leave him be, even if he was only speaking through a piece of paper. He was strangely determined to be Nico's friend, which Nico thought to be annoying and slightly endearing, but the latter Nico ignored. Will Solace came back from the small ice cream van with his friends, holding a vanilla ice cream with chocolate chip flakes and rainbow sprinkles. As much as Nico found it ridiculous, he put it down on his list. There was always something to learn about Will solace, no matter what is was or how ridiculous it could be. Nico was rambling so much in his brain, he didn't notice Willl leave, with a slight smirk on his face. Nico was dissapointed, as he liked to learn about Will, but was quickly happy again once he looked down. He didn't know how long he had been sidetracked, but it was certainly long enough for a note to have made its way inti Nico's lap. Nico smiled at the note, which had one single word that was hastily scribbled on to a piece of ripped paper. 'Cheater.' 


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey Nico, who have you been talking to lately?" Hazel asked. Nico groaned internally. Hazel was visiting Nico from San Francisco, and he was happy to have his sister back, even if only for a few days. He wasn't happy, though, if she was asking this question. He had enough of these types of questions from Jason, he didn't need his one day, one day when he could hang out with his half sister, filled with the same questions. He wouldn't be able to handle it.

"I'm not talking to anyone, Haze. Everything is the exact same." Technically, the first part was true. Nico wasn't talking to anyone, he was writing. And, maybe nothing had changed, but Nico was certainly happier and easier to be around. Even Percy Jackson felt it was easier to be around the kid, and he was probably the densest guy that Nico knew.

"Don't lie to me, tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone else." She looked at him, pleadingly. Nico looked at her and sighed, beaten. His sister never asked for much, but she sure put a bargain high.

"There's this guy who I bumped into at school who told me that I bumped into a doctor, so I am now his patient. Every day he leaves me notes in my bag and waits for me to read them and write back, and then he takes the note again. I don't know how he does it but I can never tell if he left a note or has taken it out." Nico said, knowing what was going to happen next.

Hazel's eyes brightened and she screamed a little. "Nico! This is amazing! Who is he? Does he like you? Do you like him? Come on, tell me!" Hazel kept rambling questions louder and louder until her voice reverberated inside Nico's dorm room.

"Hazel!" Nico had to do his weird semi shout to her, and she quietened down instantly. "He wants to be friends with me."

She looked at hum incredulously, "and is that so hard to believe? Lots of people want to be friends with you, Nico. You're an amazing person who is loyal to his friends. you don't know how treasured you are to us." Hazel looked at him, hoping he would believe her and finally see what she and her friends could see. But, alas, it didn't work. Nico looked away from her, at the floor in shame.

"No Hazel, I don't believe it. I know that I am a horrible person, and truly? I don't know why you all stick with me. But I am happy with it, just so you know." Nico mumbled partly to the table. He heard Hazel sigh, defeated.

"Well then, what other movie did Jason say we should watch? We better get on with it if we're going to finish them all." She picked up a random DVD and set her sights on the DVD player. She put the disc in, came back to where her and Nico were sitting on the floor, and smiled at him. Nico smiled back, and watched the screen.

Hope you're enjoying, there's more.

It was just a normal, ordinary day when Nico was practically stomping in the corridor of his school. Jason had prattling on about his recent date with Piper and it didn't help that when Nico got to gym, Percy was side tracked because of his recent date with Annabeth. Gym was the only lesson he had with Percy, who at least matched him in combat, and he had to listen and watch as Percy would suddenly drop his sword and sigh. Nico had never seen a bigger loved up idiot before in his life, and he didn't like it.

What was it with everyone? Nico was pretty sure it wasn't Valentine's Day, because then more people would be swooning. Maybe it was best not to know, because if this is what would happen, Nico did not want it.

He was so angry by his thoughts and so out of it, he bumped into a figure, again. Fortunately, this time it wasn't Will Solace. Unfortunately, it was one of his best friends, Lou Ellen.

"Holy fireballs, you have one heck of a shoulder!" She said, rubbing her shoulder whilst getting up to prove her point. When she looked up at Nico, she smiled gleefully, as if she had a secret about him that he didn't know.

"Oh hey, Nico! Didn't see you there! How has your day been so far?" It was weird that Lou Ellen was talking to him as if they were friends because they had never talked about anything other than school work.

"It's been something, how's yours?" Nico didn't hide his suspicion and confusion, and Lou Ellen picked up on it.

"Oh it's been good. Would it be possible for us to me friends, Nico?" Well she didn't beat around the bush at all, did she? Nico looked at her, with her dark brown hair that mysteriously turned purple when looked at for a long amount of time and swirly green eyes. He weighed down the pros and cons of having her as a friend, and strangely, his mind thought about Will. He would be able to get more information about Will and see if he has any motives of trying to be Nico's friend. Then again, what were the motives of Lou Ellen wanting to be his friend? However, Nico highly suspected that this girl did many random things, possibly all for fun.

Huh. That pro outweighed the con. Maybe things will be a lot more peachier, if Lou Ellen was a friend.

"I don't see why not. I would love to be friends with you." Lou Ellen smiled, still with her secret. She was about to say something else, but just then a boy with brown hair shouted her name, and she said she had to go.

Nico's term was getting weird. He had two almost friends now. Where was this coming from? And what would Reyna say?


	6. Chapter 6

# A bright shadow. #

Will was pleased with himself. He had been able to get the attention of dark and gloomy all by himself. Okay, maybe with Lou Ellen's help, but he had written the notes and now he and doom-gloom spoke to each other every day. He felt like he could jump with joy, but he knew he shouldn't because he was in town and it was very busy today. So he just spent the time smiling, accidentally wooing a bunch of girls at the mall. It was the weekend, so he was going to a small cafe that sold donuts, muffins, coffee and tea. Definitely not Starbucks, as Will wanted to stay healthy and fit as a fiddle, as Lou would say.

He was about to enter the shop, but stopped as he saw Nico di Angelo himself, sitting in the corner drinking something out of a steaming hot purple mug, with the name Arellano on the front, the cafe's name. Will had an idea, for this was an opportunity he couldn't miss out on. He went through the door as quick as he could, and sat at a table where Will hoped Nico couldn't see.

He ordered an organic coffee for himself, before he brought out a pen from his rucksack. He quickly scribbled out some words on torn paper just as a girl, who came out of the bathroom, sat opposite Nico at the same table. For some reason, Will felt disappointed. But why should he? All Will ever wanted was to be friends with Nico, so why was he disappointed when it looked like Nico had a date?

Will pushed it to the back of his mind and scrawled a few more words on the paper. Will remembered how long it took for Nico to first read his note, and tore another piece of paper, and wrote on that. Nico got up and went to the till, presumably to buy something, and left the girl sitting at the table. Will got up and went over to her.

She was thankfully looking away from him, staring out the window wistfully, waiting for Nico to come back. Will took the opportunity to his advantage, and put the little note on her meal. He quickly walked away, grinning and went back to his own table. When the girl read the note, she started turning around, looking away from Nico's chair, that had it's bag resting at the leg. Will went up to it fast, leaned down under the table, and put the other note in. He breathed quicker; he never thought he would be doing this and went back to his table and hid yet again, by the menu. He pulled out his phone, and sent a text message to both Lou Ellen and Cecil, and waited.

Psssst, there's more.

Nico's pov

Nico was walking back to his table with a cup of refilled coffee in his hand. He smiled at Reyna, only a little scared by her weird smirk that she had on her face. He sat down in his chair, slightly uncomfortable with the wood.

"Why are you smirking, Reyna?" He asked quietly, keeping his voice down because he didn't like to raise it. He looked around cautiously, wondering what made her a little happier. The only weird thing he saw was a flicker of blonde hair hiding behind the menu board of Reyna's cafe.

"Oh, no reason..." her voice was meaning that she was going to say more, so Nico raised his eyebrows, to question her. "No reason, except a small matter of you not telling me that you've made a new friend." She flicked her wrist upwards, giving Nico vision of a small note, her two fingers clutching it from the bottom.

Nico instantly recognised the paper. It was the same one he got everyday at school, but not at all on weekends. Nico panicked, what did he write?

Nico quickly tried to grab the paper, but Reyna had already guessed he would do that. She got away from Nico before he could take the paper, and started to read it out loud, only loud enough so Nico could hear her.

"_Hey there, whoever you are,_" She said it teasingly, and Nico saw that people were turning to look at the girl who was causing a ruckus. Reyna continued, not noticing. "_I'm just writing to ask you if you could tell Nico to check his bag. It's just, Nico used to check his bag really late when he's not expecting something to pop up, and, to be perfectly honest with you, I'd like an answer now._

_Whoever Nico is to you, I hope he treats you well, for he is an extremely quiet guy._" She ended it there and sat back in the chair. She finally gave Nico the note, though it was not of much use.

Nico wanted to dive into his bag and look for the note from Will, but Reyna was still there and she'd probably force him into sharing what the note said. He also didn't want to because Will might still be lurking around, who'd most likely laugh at him and tell everyone at school, making his life a little harder, though Will didn't look like someone who'd purposely do it.

He quickly mussed a few words to excuse himself from Reyna, who was still smirking at him, and went to the male bathroom. Inside, he rummaged through his bag but the note was easy to get out. He took out the light yellow paper, and read it to himself.

_'Hey there, Nico! I didn't expect you here, on the weekend no doubt, where people can see you. Anyway, who's the girl? Your girlfriend?'_ Will had put a strange winky face thing after it, making Nico scoff at the thought of Reyna being his girlfriend. He brought out a small black pen out of his bag, and scrawled back a note.

He was about to leave when someone entered. This guy was blonde haired and blue eyed, and he was in complete shock.

Before the guy could get his words to come out of his open wide mouth, Nico gave him the note, while shaking his head. He passed the guy, touching briefly, and left to go find Reyna.

He talked for a little while longer with her, and noticed that the guy hadn't come back since Nico saw him.

Nico said goodbye to Reyna, grabbed his bag, and went back to his home.

Of course, the guy was Will Solace, and he was so shocked at to having been found he stayed in the same spot for another fifteen minutes. After he got over his shock, he called Cecil, asking to be picked up. He couldn't even handle being alone at that moment, for Nico had revealed some information about himself that Will would never reveal to someone he barely knew for years.

Once Cecil was there, Will was still in shock, but thankfully not enough so he couldn't walk, so he got in Cecil's car. He ignored every single thing Cecil said, either because he didn't want to answer or he just couldn't hear him over the sound of his heart. Once the car stopped at Will's door, he climbed out of the car, still ignoring Cecil, who was now asking if Will should go to the hospital. He fumbled around with his keys, and opened the apartment door. He walked gingerly through the corridor, going straight to his room. He didn't bother with the lights, or even changing his clothes. He simply laid on his sun printed bed, and thought himself to sleep.

_'Where did you suspect I would be? If you are, then please stop stalking me, and sending Reyna that note was just plain cruel. Now she's going to be asking me all about it. And Reyna as my girlfriend? That would suck big time, as she's practically my honorary sister. Also, I'm not great with females.'_

Nico put it in so casually, as if he had told everyone he knew about his sexuality, and it had taken so long for Will to even to tell his best friends to know that he wasn't in the same lane as Cecil, possibly years of wait for them to know, and even then Will stuttered and dropped his small amount of notes. And Nico did it so easily, like it just rolled off the tongue, and it made Will even more jealous of Nico.

Nico di Angelo was gay. And he didn't care what others think.


	7. Chapter 7

# A bright shadow. #

Nico's pov:

Will didn't leave a message on Monday. Or the day after, and it was starting to bug Nico. For some reason, he had grown used to his notes, actually, he waited for the moment the note would arrive just so he could read it, and now there wasn't one.

Will had never forgot to leave a note before, even when he was ill. When he knew he was going to be off, Nico would have two notes in his bag, one saying the date of which to open it, meaning Will put another note in for his day off. But Nico thought that when Will was ill, he had recruited someone to give a note to Nico, because the note would be half stapled together and the actual letter would be scrunched up from riding in a person's bag for too long without much care. Will had always taken care of the look of his notes.

It was driving Nico insane. His leg was jumping up and down, agitated. He kept looking out of the corner of his eyes, waiting for a flicker of yellow to spring up. He couldn't stop scratching his right ear, his hair being ruffled slightly by the movement, because he kept thinking he heard the sound of scribbling on paper, a sound that could only be made from a pen. But when he looked, not one person had even their pencils up.

In other words, Nico felt as if he was being dragged to Tartarus by a Cerberus hound, the rope ringed around his foot and the dog stopping occasionally to give a false sense of freedom.

When he walked down the corridors of the school, he had an air around him so dark and cold that even Jason and Percy knew that they should back up. And that was a definite plus, as the pair could barely tell what a subtle hint was split apart, let alone together. And Nico just couldn't deal with their petty jokes today, not when his whole body felt as if it was going to overheat and explode at any minute.

Nico stormed out of the school with students moving around him, knowing not to get in his way. He walked straight to the end of the field of the school, which they had since they were a typical and very generic high school. He then sat down, as if the world didn't matter, when really, his universe was exploding.

He thought for a moment. He hadn't seen Lou Ellen or Cecil around. He hadn't been looking for them, but he knew that he should have seen at least one of them in classes or rushing about in the corridors. What happened to the both of them? What happened to all three of them?

Nico was now worried. He no longer cared about a silly post it note, he was now worried for his new friends (and crush) and needed to see if they were all right. He didn't know where Cecil or Lou Ellen lived, and he didn't know where Will lived, though he was sure Will knew where Nico is. Which wasn't creepy at all?

Nico sighed, and his whole body stopped. Stillness reached him, as he dawned on what he had to do.

...

A dark shadow fell on the door that lead into the school, and moved silently and quickly, as though a ghost and not a real person. As the shadow bent down, a quiet, plastic sound came from the side of the door, and a clicking sound soon followed after.

The door swung open slowly, revealing a dark, hooded figure. As the shadow stepped in, it looked around, its head swiping from side to side. As the shadow saw that it was clear, it took off down the halls, somehow still quiet.

The hood he had on flapped, revealing strands of dark black hair that the figure quickly learnt of, and grabbed his hood to shield himself again.

He stopped running just outside of the student office, which on a regular day would be full with teachers who would send kids home, but at night it was left empty. The clicking sound could be heard again, except this time a lot quicker, as if the carrier of the tools was more confident in that short space of time. Quickly, the door opened, and the figure rushed into the room. He shut the door smoothly, so quietly that the door made no sound, and went to the filing cabinets across the room.

The filing cabinets should have, to be honest, had locks on. But they were left bare. So the figure just opened the cabinets and searched through, flicking through them all with ease.

He searched. And searched. And searched. He couldn't find them at all. Not the right one, anyway. He was just coming to the end of the Ts and he had already yawned about ten times. But he wouldn't give up. He needed that file.

And so, he came up to the Ss. There weren't many people with S as their last name, the figure found out. The first one was Sarahs and then it went straight to the SOs.

He went through the lists again, with Sobrines and Soldiers as firsts. He finally thought he came up to the right one, as he now slightly remembers hearing the word being spoken to him again, and pulled the folder out of the cabinet.

He let a small grin fall on his masked face as he began opening the folder to the page of details, which he had done countless times before but with his own folder. He found what he had been looking for.

He placed the folder on top of the cabinet, careful as to not turn the page. He then took out a notepad and pen, which had been somehow disguised by his jeans, and started to write down the details.

Once finished, he slipped the notepad and pen back inside his jean pocket and put the folder back into the cabinet. He then shut the cabinet and walked out the room. The door to the room clicked yet again, and the figure looked back at the way he came.

He sighed quietly through his mask, and straight away started sprinting.

Once out the front school doors, he turned to lock them, then left without leaving any indication that he was there at all.

...

Nico woke up the next day, still tired and wanting to stay in bed but got up to complete the normalcy of it all. He began to get ready for the school day, and left his lone apartment.

He was still for the whole day, even though he was amiss another letter yet again.

Jason and Percy were still unsure of Nico, even though his death aura was at a minimum that day, so they left him alone again. However, they did cast side glances.

Nico went back to the same spot he sat in the day before during the breaks, but this time he was still and had a blank mind.

He went to his classes and learned. He went to breaks and rested. At the end of the school day, he left through the main doors. There was no announcement that the school had been broken in to.

When Nico was walking back from school, he changed his route slightly, making him end up at a completely different house. Yet he knew where he was from here, and how to get back. Now, he just needed to find the source to all his problems.

Nico stepped onto the porch step, and, slowly, he let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding. He raised his hands to knock on the door in from of him, and after, heard the sound of heels.

When the door swung open, a blonde and cheerful woman could be seen. She looked very pretty, but had that touch of oldness that said she was a beautiful person when she was younger. Nico guessed this was Will's mother.

"Hello?" She said, hesitantly, it was clear that she wasn't sure if she should allow Nico in, and he guessed it was because of his appearance.

"Hi." Nico wasn't actually sure what to say. He wasn't greatly talkative, and even worse with new people. Oh well, he guessed he would just have to suck it up. "I am a friend of Will's. I was just wondering when he was going to come back to school?"

The woman was clearly relieved with what he said, as she open the door a little wider, showing more of her very bright home. She sighed quickly, and then looked at Nico apologetically.

"Oh, I guess you don't know, do you? Will and his friends, Cecil and Lou Ellen, go out every year to the country for a week. I guess no one told you, huh?" She looked sympathetic, but unlike other people, she looked genuinely sorry for Nico.

He shook his head. "No. Oh well, thanks anyway." He turned to leave, until Will's mother called to him.

"Excuse me!" She called, and he turned to look at her. "Who are you?"

"Just a friend." he said, as he waved at her and left.

Later on, Nico clenched his fists. Will was in so much trouble when he got back. Only 4 days.


	8. Chapter 8

#a Bright Shadow

On the same day as when Nico went to Will's mom's house, Will was outside his, Cecil's and Lou's tent, watching them throw water on each other after telling them that he didn't want to play this year. His friends knew that it wasn't like him and something was probably wrong, so they asked and he just said that he was trying to remember something that he had forgotten they both shrugged their shoulders at each other and went to go play, leaving Will to watch.

Will was wondering why he was actually spending so much time trying to remember what he had (supposedly; according to his brain) he had forgotten. He was supposed to be enjoying his holiday with his friends, a holiday that was meant to forget about school and work and tests, not choosing to be left out and watch while your friends have fun without you while you're trying to think about something you think he might have left behind. That's one way to waste a holiday, isn't it?

So there was no point in trying to think about it any longer. He was going to have fun with his friends, as he came here to do. If there was a really something that he forgot, it would come back to him in due time. Trying to think about it will not help at all.

_**So a guest user pointed to me that the whole time I did this in my other story, I kept saying A/U instead of A/N. Oops. Thank you though.**_

The holiday consisted of swimming at the lake and playing around on the field. Sometimes they would just lie about and do nothing for a few hours, but since they were all had ADHD, it was hard to stay that way. It was rather wonderful, and like every year, ended in fire.

At the age of 12 for Will, Cecil and Lou, they had started bringing fireworks and firewood to their holiday, after they had begged their parents, of course. They all loved fireworks, each one of them for a different reason. Lou Ellen loved them because of the bright, vibrant colours that are displayed, as they remind them of her hair, which was a strange-but-somehow-natural green, purple and blue. All these colours in a neon shade.

For Cecil, it wasn't the fireworks in general, but the fact that it was against the law for him to light them, or for him to actually light them in their holiday field. It was the thrill that made him love them, and that was all he needed.

For Will, the fireworks reminded him of all the happy times he had with Lou and Cecil, and he thought them his own personal message that said the three of them will be together for another year afterwards. The fireworks were their bond, and Will loved them (the fireworks, and his best friends) to pieces.

However, this year, the fireworks wanted to serve as something different to Will, an ugly reminder this time, though what it reminded him of couldn't have been so far away from the word ugly. The fireworks were very fancy, so they did pictures, and Cecil found one from last year's Halloween that he added into their holiday pack. So in the middle of all the fireworks going off, He saw a silver-gray skull firework, which reminded him of Nico. This was not a good reminder.

"Oh. My gods."

Cecil and Lou spun around to look at Will, but he already had his head in his hands and had sunken to the floor. Will was great in dramatics.

Cecil leaned in close to find out what Will was muttering in his hands, but it just seemed to be a string of oh no's that didn't help the pair on finding out what had stopped Will from enjoying the last night of his holiday. Cecil shook his head at Lou, who was looking slightly worried.

"Will? What's wrong?" Lou's voice whispered into Will's head, and it got louder each time she repeated. Soon enough, it got loud enough that Will finally felt like answering.

"You know how I have sent all those notes to Nico?"

Lou hesitated. "Yeah," she looked at Cecil. "What about it?"

"Well," he looked up and took a big breath. "I forgot to send a note saying that we were going on holiday."

Cecil looked puzzled. For one, he didn't even know that Will had continued sending notes to Nico. He thought Nico would try and kill him for even thinking of writing to him and Will would back off, but now it sounds like Nico did no such thing and let it go on. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, what if Nico got angry that I didn't send him anything. What will happen when we come back? I might die after this holiday!" Will buried his head back into his hands and went back to his streams of no's while Lou and Cecil sighed simultaneously.

"Will, you're thinking too much about this. He's probably fine, and just hanging around back at school." Lou breathed, thinking that Will might've been better taking drama classes instead of being a doctor, no matter how good he is.

"Yeah, He's probably just terrorising some poor little soul right now!" Cecil exclaimed, and Will lifted his head and looked at the pair.

"Yeah." He breathed. "You two are probably right."

He stood up and brushed off his pants, and looked as if nothing like him breaking down had ever happened. He looked up and his eyes were gleaming with hope, like something out of an anime.

"Well guys, let's get packed up! The end of the firework show is soon and we have a cab to catch!" He was practically leaping to leave, and it led for Lou and Cecil to have no choice but to get ready to leave.

They both sighed but got up, both sharing the same thought that Will was acting like a love-struck idiot.

What if he was?

The last four days of Will's holiday was finally over. Thinking it like that made him sound horrible though, but Nico couldn't think about it any other way. He didn't know why he was so upset that Will didn't tell him that he had a holiday; after all, it was Will's life and not his, so he had no control over anything that happened. So why was he so angry that Will didn't tell him?

Whatever. It no longer mattered. Now, Nico could go back to the cycle that he had grown accustomed to and start writing again. The thought may have brought a slight smile to his face.

So Nico went about his everyday life in the morning of school. He got on another painfully dark outfit on and slung his bag over his shoulder. He had already checked to make sure all his normal stuff is in there, and was ready to go. He checked his watch, and saw that he was early, so made himself some toast.

After eating his toast, he locked the door and walked out, heading for school.

Percy and Jason had been worried about Nico for the past few days, wondering why his emotions (which were practically non-existent) being so obvious like a rollercoaster for giants at a children's funfair. Even people who didn't know Nico personally could tell that something was off with him. But you would think that this would make him less scary among the populace. In fact, it made him even scarier, as people had started seeing him as a violent train wreck instead of an emotionless rock. Which Percy found out when he was helping out a one of the younger students one time.

For the past few days, whenever Nico walked into school, a dead silence occurred. Nico would stand at the entrance with a cold persona, no stomping, no shouting, just silence. His eyes would be low, and his mouth would be like a straight line. He would then look at everyone in the area and analyze them, until he walks away.

At lunch break, Nico would not be cold; he would be a burning rage. He would stomp and scream at anyone who tried to even talk to him, including the teachers. Nico even got sent to the head teacher's office and when he came out, the head teacher looked traumatised.

Everyone really hoped it would end soon.

Nico sighed, as he opened his front door. It had been four days since he went to talk to Will's mom, and Nico expected Will to be back. Although it was the time Will should've been back, Nico hadn't seen him at school.

Nico sighed again, and put his bag on the counter. He opened it up as usual, and tipped out everything.

Two things caught his attention, both pieces of scrap paper that fluttered to the counter slowly. Nico had slight hope that it one of these was a note from Will, and opened the first one he caught and read it.

_To __Nico di Angelo_

_We have looked at your unnecessary behaviour and have decided to politely ask you to stop and be more mature. We have not had major problems with you before other than a few younger students stating their feelings about you. You are a great student and we do not wish to let you go, but we will if we have to. So please refrain from acting out anymore._

_Sincerely,_

_Head office._

Well, that wasn't a letter he wanted to read. Great. Time to get the act together. Though, Nico supposed, it would be a lot easier since Will was back. Everything will go back to normal again, and he'll never have to face an expulsion letter again. He looked at the other piece of paper, and saw that it was like the post-its that Will gave him, although a different colour. Nico's breathe caught, does that mean Will was back at school? He read the note.

_Dear Nico,_

_Sorry, but it isn't Will. But he will be back at school tomorrow, so you will get a message by him then. This is just a heads up, because Will told me that you never check your bag at school. _

_Don't think of this as some kind of meaning, by the way, even though I don't think you do that._

(Nico did that.)

_I'm just one of Will's siblings that he asks to hand in his notes to you at school when he's away. In fact, he thinks I'm as good as Cecil when it comes to putting notes in your bag. I'll never tell him that it was Cecil who taught me. You better not tell him either, or you won't be getting anymore notes!_

_Anyway, don't freak out. He's coming back tomorrow._

_Andrew. (Though you don't know me at all, I feel you should get a name.)_

While Nico was reading the note he had been moving towards his couch, and once he finished reading the note he collapsed on it. He felt worn out for some reason, even though he had been getting his regular amount of sleep throughout the whole thing of everything. He did only get about four hours of sleep, but it had never affected him like this. This, he felt exhausted, and he had a guess it was human interaction, even though that was weird.

He hadn't actually communicated with Will properly, unless you count that weird episode in the toilets, and he hadn't talked to Will's siblings either. In fact, the only person who he didn't usually talk to but did was Lou Ellen, and that was months ago.

But this was a lot of talking, a lot of screaming and venting, and a lot of anger. All in four days. It was obvious that he was going to be tired of it all, even though he sleeps like normal. He just needed a break from it all, but would this break mean not talking to Will?

Well, it was all to tell for tomorrow.

_**A/N I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, though it was mostly the waiting game, it did take a while to write, so enjoy. **_

_**Please leave a favourite and a review if you can, and I will see you soon!**_

_**Super Serial Ethereal**_

_**P.S I'm putting a song that I recommend you all to listen to. It's a cover that is really beautiful.**_

_**「**__**Lucia x Echo**__**」**____**Do It For Her (Cover)**_


	9. Chapter 9

Hello to anyone who has read or still does read my stories, I am so sorry I have been away for so long, and I do regret it. I have missed writing and it's many benefits.

I have been away because, at first I had no ideas how to continue my story, and then I left it for good.

But now, I am going to make a comeback, so please look out for an update with A World Of Angels And Sorrows, then more to come.

Though I may not update the fairy tail story, I have very different opinions on it now then I did when I first wrote it.

Sorry, again.

Super Serial Ethereal


	10. Chapter 10

/ A Bright Shadow \\\

Will woke up, refreshed and ready for a new day. He hummed badly, so off tune it could make birds squeak in anger, and got ready for school. He put on his clothes, went downstairs for breakfast, talked to his mother idly whilst sitting and eating, then brushing his teeth. There was ten minutes before he had to leave, so he sat down at his desk, and peeled a sticky note from his batch. He scribbled on it quickly, then got a second, then a third before his mother called him that he was going to be late and cecil had been honking for a solid minute now.

So he gently put the notes into a yellow, square box he had invested in to carry the notes (before he had met Nico, of course) and zipped it into his rucksack. He started humming again, and ran downstairs and out the door, shouting a goodbye to his mother on the way.

He hopped into the Cecil's car, and beamed at both him and Lou Ellen, who was sitting at the back and looking at Will curiously.

"What's got you so perky, our dear William?" She asked, using the nickname that she and Cecil knew he hated. But even the nickname couldn't bring him down today.

"Oh, nothing, my sweet, Louise." He said sweetly, and she scowled, as 'Louise' was the nickname she hated, especially since it was dull and boring in her opinion, and reflected no character as to who she is (or that's what she shouts at Will and Cecil most of the time anyway). "I just think today is going to be a great day." He smiled again, and looked outside the window with a happy gaze.

Time blurred by as Cecil drove the car to their school. Will watched as the houses and street corners faded into the background and disappeared into oblivion. He sighed into the window happily, and dreamed. He just couldn't wait to see and speak to Nico again, even if he was angry at Will for forgetting to tell him. Yes, it is only a little strange that Will had been pining for Nico so much as they are only friends and Will may be the only one in this supposed 'friendship' that even classifies it as a friendship, but Will thought it best to not think about it. If he thought about it, he might get worried or anxious over something that isn't there. The only thing that mattered or matters, is that Will missed Nico.

Before Will could even think it ad been ten minutes, Cecil's car had already arrived and parked at school. Lou Ellen and Cecil got out at the same time, grabbing their bags from the back of the car, but Will stayed for a second more, feeling the excited rush that hit him, and made him beam even brighter. He quickly got out of the car, bouncing out, and shutting the door. In a flash, he had got his bag and joined Lou Ellen and Cecil, and after Cecil locked his car, walked with them inside the school with a spring t his step.

No one paid the three any mind as they entered the building, which was usual, so they walked their usual path to their lockers. Only three steps to their destination and Will was bombarded with a frantic looking Percy, who was asking around at anyone if they had seen either Jason or Nico, and after saying no, sped off trying to find them. Need to say it worried Will. What had he missed in the few days he had been gone?

No one answered his unasked question, apart from Lou Ellen giving Will a shrug, so he finished getting his books from his locker and got out the yellow box and gave the three notes to Cecil, asking quietly if e could do the thing again. Yet again, Will was failing at trying to be discreet and secretive, but Cecil took them with a roll of his eyes.

But after a second, Something different happened. "Why don't you give it to him yourself?" Cecil asked, and Will turned to look at him incredulously, and was about to ask what the point of any of this would be until he saw that Cecil's eyes weren't focused on him, but on something behind him. Will quickly turned to look and locked eyes with Nico, the dark eyes that seemed to make his heart ache with sadness and something else he couldn't quite place. Will gasped quietly, always one for the dramatics, and was about to turn around until he saw Nico walking quickly towards him, and before he could think anything more, he was incased in a warm, small body that was wrapped around him tightly.

Will couldn't believe it. Nico was hugging him. Him. Nico hugging Will. And in public! And Will wasn't hugging him back.

Before Nico could get a chance to let go, Will wrapped his arms around Nico, just above the waist, letting him in and and burying his head into his shoulders. To Will the hug seemed to last forever, and for that, e was so grateful. Because Will never wanted to let go of Nico.

Will didn't want to let go.

Hope you enjoyed.

Super Serial Ethereal


End file.
